Issue Position: Reform

Issue Position

Right now, members of the state senate receive more than their salary -- and it's time taxpayers put an end to these undeserved perks and extras.

Does your boss buy you a car to drive to and from work? No. You buy your own car. But, taxpayers in Erie are financing a late-model lease car for members of the senate. I will say no to this perk. I have a car and it runs just fine. There is no reason to pay for the rides of our public servants.

Does anyone give you $159 a day in no-receipt expense accounts just for showing up at work? They pay you a salary. And when you run up a legitimate business expense, they expect a receipt to show for it. I will say no to the no-receipt expense accounts our senators have been using to enrich themselves on top of an already generous salary.

If elected office is supposed to be a period of public service, why are members of the general assembly receiving lavish, defined-benefit pensions at taxpayer expense? Fifteen years ago, they voted themselves a huge increase in this system and we're now dealing with a $57 billion unfunded pension liability. The one way to guarantee fresh blood in the senate is to do away with the pensions that have turned well-intentioned public servants into Harrisburg "lifers." I won't accept a state pension and will propose that we eliminate it.

According to news reports, Sean Wiley is among the most costly state senators when it comes to state expense accounts. Here's how The Erie Times-News put it in their report April 20, 2015: "State Sen. Sean Wiley, of Millcreek Township, D-49th Dist., had the highest district office lease, totaling $76,258 for a partial 2012-13 year and a full 2013-14 year."

That's simply too much, especially when it's your money he's spending.

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